THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) are calling for retailers who truly master customer experience within the Retail Realm at this year’s ARA Retail Awards.

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious retail event, showcasing the most influential retail leaders and employees within the Australian retail industry.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said this industry leading event is a crucial platform where the industry can not only recognise Australia’s retail pioneers, but also showcase those retail leaders who exceed customer expectations.

“Customer fulfillment is a crucial aspect of any retail business, and this year’s Awards will pay special tribute to those retailers creating the right process, model and atmosphere to enhance the consumer experience at every step of the customer’s shopping journey,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“With this year’s Awards encompassing three retail categories, the Excellence in Customer Experience category will search for exceptional retailers offering innovative marketing strategies, fit-outs and customer experiences.”

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards themed, The Retail Realm: thinking outside the shop, will touch on every element in the retail sphere including customer experience, technology, payments, sustainability, supply chain, growth, employee development and corporate social responsibility.

Naomi Simson, founding director of online experience retailer RedBalloon, will be this year’s Awards keynote speaker, addressing 500 Australian retailers at the iconic Mural Hall in Melbourne on the 18 October.

“It will be great to see so many retailers in one room thinking beyond their shopfront and discussing how we, as an industry, can turn our market challenges into triumphs,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“It is retail forums like our annual Awards breakfast, that retailers across the country can learn from, and gain insights into, how they can grow their business and build further opportunities for the retail industry as a whole.”

As the submission deadline is just around the corner, the ARA encourage retailers of all sizes to submit an entry before Friday 10 August.

“With 13 awards up for grabs across three retail categories, there may be more than one category your business can submit an entry to,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“It’s just about identifying the key strengths and attributes of your retail business and then sharing your success stories with us.”

The ARA believe knowledge is power and the more stories shared across the industry will only provide further opportunities to the retail sector and the Australian economy as a whole.

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards will be held on Thursday 18 October at the Myer Mural Hall in Melbourne. Submit your entry today via the 2018 eftpos ARA Retail Awards platform.

To secure your seat for the 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards head to The Retail Realm to purchase your tickets today.

About the eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards:

First held in the 1970s, the eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious retail event, recognising and rewarding outstanding retail businesses, innovations, and individuals across all sectors of retail. Relaunched in 2008, the annual 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards breakfast will commence on Thursday 18 October at the Myer Mural Hall in Melbourne. 

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE HOUSE of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing in Canberra for its inquiry into impediments to business investment in Australia.

The Chair of the committee, Sarah Henderson MP, said, "The committee is examining how government at all levels can encourage more businesses to invest in Australia."

"At the recent hearings in Sydney and Melbourne, the committee heard that the combination of multiple layers of regulation and high corporate tax rates makes it difficult for Australian companies to compete in the global marketplace. Similarly, these factors can deter foreign investment in Australia. As a net importer of capital, Australia needs to be more competitive."

Ms Henderson said the committee looks forward to hearing from a range of stakeholders and interested parties in Canberra to gain a deeper understanding of impediments to business investment.

Public hearing details: Tuesday, 7 August 2018, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

9.15am: Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman

10am: Department of Industry, Innovation and Science 

10.45am: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Trade and Investment Commission

11.30am: Break

11.45am: Clean Energy Council (via teleconference) 

12.30pm: Master Builders Australia

1pm: Lunch break

1.30pm: Red Meat Advisory Council

2pm: Australian Trucking Association

2.30pm: Finish

The hearing will be broadcast live at www.aph.gov.au/live

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QUEENSLAND'S resources sector is powering jobs growth across the State with mines re-opening, exploration surging and exports rising said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the state’s most valuable export is delivering more than 3500 jobs across Queensland in 2018 after a sustained uplift in the global economy.

“Resources account for about 80 percent of Queensland’s exports and over the last two years the sector has benefitted from elevated prices and a strong tailwind from larger volumes,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“With confidence returning, new projects are emerging, old mines are being extended and mothballed mines are coming back online. We’re seeing strong investment in new gas fields and all this activity is leading to highly skilled and highly paid jobs.

"Seek has more than 1,400 vacancies in mining, resources and energy in Queensland with more than half paying $100,000 or more," Mr Macfarlane said.

“For every direct job in the resources sector across Queensland another six full time jobs are supported indirectly.

“Santos and its GLNG partners will invest $400 million into its Arcadia gas project near Injune establishing up to 300 construction jobs, and a further $900 million in gas developments in the Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana regions. While Senex will produce gas for the domestic market from the company’s Project Atlas in the Surat Basin creating 150 jobs.

“In this year alone, we’ve had two new entrants to the state’s coal sector with South32 scooping up a 50 percent stake in the greenfield Eagle Downs and Bengal Coal’s new coking coal mine near Dysart attaining State Government approval. Meanwhile, Japan’s Sojitz has acquired BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s (BMA) Gregory Crinum mine leading to 300 jobs.

“Stanmore expects first coal in August from its new Isaac Plains East, Bounty Mining’s recommissioned Cook Colliery mine exported coal in June, Metro Mining’s Bauxite Hills project commenced in April with contracts to China, MMG is producing zinc at its Dugald River mine and Peabody secured over 230 jobs by extending its North Goonyella mine," he said.

“Underpinning this growth is exploration with the Palaszczuk Government releasing more than 44,000 square kilometres of land following a 39 percent increase in greenfield exploration.”

The resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State - all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass, according to the QRC.

www.qrc.org.au

Where 3,506 resources jobs came from in 2018:

• Bounty Mining Cook Colliery 260 jobs
• Metro Mining Bauxite Hills 200 jobs
• Stanmore’s Isaac Plains East 210 jobs
• Peabody North Goonyella 230 jobs
• Sojitz acquires BMA’s Gregory Crinum $100m 300 jobs
• Senex & Jemena $140m Wallumbilla pipeline 200 jobs
• Santos GLNG $400m Arcadia project 300 jobs
• Senex Project Atlas 150 jobs
• Bengal Coal Dysart East Underground 200 jobs
• New Century Resources and Santos gas supply deal 240 jobs
• BMA apprentices start work in central Queensland 40 jobs
• Hastings Deering apprentices 50 jobs
• Batchfire Callide 450 jobs
• Metallica Minerals Bauxite Project 26 jobs
• MMG Dugald River Zinc 400 jobs
• Glencore’s Lady Loretta 250 jobs
• Santos GLNG $900m in gas developments across Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana
• South32 buys 50 percent of Eagle Downs $100m

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DEFENCE is seeking applications from the cyber community across Australia to develop cyber solutions of high relevance to the country's national security.

Applications close August 15.

Cyber is a priority theme of the Next Generation Technologies Fund, aimed at realising the potential game changing cyber capabilities afforded by research and development in Australia. Defence recognises the need to respond to this technology opportunity, and that technological advances in the cyber domain are likely to lead to the introduction of new capabilities in our region.

Defence is seeking to leverage the vibrant cyber science, technology and innovation capability across Australia to develop technology solutions of high relevance to the country's national security.

Through partnerships with Data61, academia and industry, Defence aims to understand the potential of cyber technologies, create prototype systems, and demonstrate the practical application of systems to Defence problems.

One of the goals of cyber technologies research is to inform Defence of the potential benefits and practical limitations of cyber technologies through studies and demonstrator systems within a three to five-year timeframe.

DST is seeking submissions from academia, and other research agencies, detailing how they propose to contribute to research in the following areas:

• Trustworthy Machine Learning
• Symbolic Execution for Rapid Threat Analysis
• Formal verification of Network Control Protocols
• Data Security and Privacy of Inference Models
• Detecting and Analysing Vulnerabilities in Concurrent Software
• Resilient Cyber Systems
• Depicting human vulnerabilities towards cyber threats via trust analytics
• Privacy-Preserving distributed Edge Computing
• Policy-Defined Networking
• SDN Data Plane Security and extensions to Software Defined Clouds
• Formal Mathematical Modelling Environment
• FPGA Security
• Assisted System Decomposition for Vulnerability Assessment
• Cyber-Enabled Information Warfare

Proposals will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Alignment to Defence strategy and the project priorities articulated in this document
• Future science criticality
• Collaboration depth (e.g. Collaboration with DST staff, Data61 staff, other universities, an industry partner, etc.)
• Delivery of outcomes (e.g. the ability of the proposal to deliver the agreed outcomes and milestones).
• Game changing potential to Defence

For more informaiton visit the Next Generation Technologies Fund - Cyber page.

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